Ask Me Anything
by LobsterLobster
Summary: After a tragic event, Nylah is alone in the world and not sure how long she can hold on. Then she meets two people who offer her a new chance at life. Will she trust them? Will she open her heart again?
1. Chapter 1 - Ask Me Anything

Ask Me Anything

Summary: Sometimes help comes when you need it most.

A/N: I know you're probably expecting a Richonne fic from me, so I'm telling you now this is something a little different. Please give it a chance! Written as a request from a friend on wattpad.

Chapter 1

…..

"Hello. What's your name?"

I looked between them, waiting to decide if there was any point in answering. I'd seen them coming from down the street, but I knew they'd seen me as well.

After maybe three days without eating, I didn't have the strength to outrun people. Not alive people anyway. So I stood there and waited for them to approach me. I didn't know what else to do.

When I was quiet for too long, the man on the left spoke again.

"My name is Aaron," he said, then gestured to his friend, "This is Daryl."

I have a theory. It takes two minutes or less to know if someone is good or bad. If they're bad, you'll probably find out much quicker than that.

Anyway that's my theory. And I still wasn't sure about these two, which was actually a good sign, all things considered.

The man named Aaron wore a red flannel jacket and he wore a large backpack, the kind that people take on camping trips. Or used to, before camping was all people did.

That's not what stood out about him, though. He looked clean. Cleaner than anyone I'd seen in a long time. Cleaner than the second man, Daryl.

He had shaggy hair hanging in his eyes, a leather vest over this dirty shirt, string tying his ragged pants close around his ankles, and a crossbow pointed at my chest. If he'd been alone, I probably would have run. Or tried to.

For a few seconds I'd thought maybe he was one of the bad people. The 'W' people. When they got closer I could tell he wasn't, mostly because I was still standing.

"Are you alone?" the first man tried again patiently.

I kept my grip on my pistol. I didn't bother pointing it at them. There were no bullets left. They didn't know that, but I knew I didn't have it in me to bluff far enough for it to make a difference, so I settled for holding it at my side.

"No," I said reflexively and then corrected myself, "…I mean, well, I wasn't."

"I'm sorry," Aaron said, sincerity in his voice.

I looked at him carefully. He held a rifle but didn't aim it at me. I noticed his blue eyes and how open his face seemed. He almost didn't look like he belonged in this world, like something ripped out of a storybook memory of the past.

"I have good news," he said, smiling cautiously, "We have a camp. It's a community and it's safe, behind fifteen foot walls. Nothing alive or dead gets through that wall without our say-so. There's only one resource more important than security, and that's people. It's my job to find people and potentially recruit them."

He paused and waited for the news to sink in.

"Really?" I asked.

I had no idea what else to say and by this point I was nearly certain that they weren't bad.

"Before we go any further, though, we're going to need to ask you a few questions. Just to get to know you, see if you might be a good fit for our community. What do you say?"

I decided to trust my instincts. And if I was wrong, there wasn't much I could do about it anyway. I stuck my gun in the front of my pants and held out my empty hands.

Satisfied that I wasn't a threat, Daryl finally lowered his crossbow. He still hadn't said a single word.

I took a deep breath and let it out.

"Ask me anything," I said with a shrug.

Whatever was going to happen next, it couldn't be worse than what was behind me.

"How many walkers have you killed?" Daryl spoke for the first time.

"Walkers," I repeated.

I usually call them dead people. Dead walkers. That's a good name, I suppose.

"You mean, like, total?" I asked, suddenly nervous that there might be a wrong answer.

"Uh, yeah," Aaron said, exchanging a look with Daryl, "Just give an estimate."

"I don't know. A lot. Not many lately though, since I lost my crowbar and my knife. These days, mostly I run. Or hide," I answered as best I could.

My answer must have been acceptable because Daryl asked the next question, "How many people have you killed?"

My voice caught in my throat. I looked between Aaron and Daryl. It was hard to read their expressions, but I could sense that it was very important to tell the truth. I'm not much of a liar anyway.

"One," I managed.

They didn't react.

"Why?"

I blinked. If you'd asked me that morning, I would have sworn that I didn't have a single tear left in me, not after what happened. But all of a sudden I felt my eyes growing wet.

"She…was…dying…" my voice came out almost too quiet to hear, but I got it out.

I didn't want to talk about this anymore. I didn't want to talk at all anymore. I looked at the ground. There was a hole in my left sneaker now, too. Why hadn't I noticed that before?

"Alright," Aaron spoke again.

I looked up at him and there was something about his expression that was inexplicably comforting.

"Is there anything you'd like to ask us?" he said.

I looked around us at the broken down cars, the cracked pavement, and the lonely forest beyond.

"I don't want to be here anymore," I said, hesitated, then asked, "Can I come with you?"

"Yes," Aaron said with a gentle smile.

He glanced at Daryl, who gave a curt nod of agreement.

They had vehicles parked a little ways down the road, past some fallen trees. Daryl led the way, crossbow at the ready for any dead people who might show up. I followed behind, doing my best to keep pace with Aaron despite my tired legs.

"My name is Nylah, by the way," I said.

"It's nice to meet you, Nylah," Aaron replied.

He smiled and shook my hand. And just like that, my life changed course again. It was about time something good happened to me!

….

TBC!


	2. Chapter 2 - Take Me Anywhere

Summary: Nylah's journey is off to a rocky start.

…

Chapter 2 – Take Me Anywhere

"And we have apple trees. Personally, I can't stand the stuff, but we have a steady supply of applesauce in the fall."

Aaron looked back to gauge my reaction. His eyes focused on something above my shoulder and his expression changed. I turned to see what it was.

Sure enough, a couple ragged figures were moving through the trees and onto the road. Their disjointed, aimless shuffle gave them away immediately. Dead people.

"Come on," Aaron said in a low voice.

We caught up to Daryl, who held his crossbow at the ready. Together we hurried over a fallen tree and skirted around a burnt out tractor trailer, walking along the narrow shoulder.

We were almost in the clear when my sneaker caught on the uneven pavement and I tripped, falling hard on my hands and knees.

Aaron grabbed my hand and helped me up. Before I could assess my injuries, a skeletal corpse stumbled around a thick tree trunk and lurched towards me.

I bolted across the road, passing a mostly dust-free car that had to be Aaron's. I glanced over my shoulder once and saw Daryl and Aaron busy fighting more dead people.

Cold fingers grazed my shoulder, so I had no choice but to keep running, adrenaline pushing me even faster. I skidded down the gravel on the side of the road and ran into the woods.

Once inside the forest, I realized it wasn't much of a forest after all. It was a small wooded area with another highway on the other side. I turned and ran parallel to the road, zigzagging and dodging through the trees, hoping to lose my pursuer.

Eventually I had to slow down. I was dizzy and gasping for air.

A thick patch of brambles forced me to change course. A low branch forced me to duck. Each time I thought I'd put enough distance between us, something would slow me down again.

Suddenly I was in a tight spot. A tall sound barrier wall rose up on one side and everywhere I looked all I could see were tangled thorn bushes.

A cold, greasy hand clamped tight around my arm. I yelped and tried to pull free, but the dead man was too strong.

"Help!" I gasped, not at all sure if anyone could hear me.

With my free arm, I pushed my hand against its chest and locked my arm, fighting to keep my balance and keep the monster at an arm's length.

I cringed as I felt its rib cage start to bend. My palm sank into its chest as the rotten bones caved in on themselves. The snarling teeth were inches from my face.

 _THUNK!_

I blinked. The point of an arrow protruded from the dead man's forehead.

With one last burst of defiance, I shoved it away from me. It collapsed into a heap of bones and gore. I breathed sweet relief into my lungs.

I looked up to see Daryl lowering his crossbow.

"Thank you!" I said breathlessly.

Daryl frowned. He let out a puff of breath, clearly irritated.

"What?" I asked, genuinely confused.

"You can't just run off like that," he said, gesturing with a wide sweep of his arm, "What were you thinking?"

I was at a loss for words. I hate being treated like I'm an idiot, even if I was in need of rescue not thirty seconds ago.

"Why the hell didn't you shoot it?!" Daryl demanded.

"With what?!" I retorted, becoming irritated myself.

To answer, he reached out and grabbed the pistol from where it was tucked in my waistband. I'd completely forgotten about it.

"It's empty! No bullets," I said, a little louder than I should have.

As I said it, Daryl already had the magazine free and could see for himself.

"There you are," Aaron had found us.

He glanced at Daryl, then me to make sure that we were unhurt, and then back over his shoulder to check for trouble.

"Let's go," Daryl grunted, pushing through the underbrush to lead the way.

I glared at his back for a few bitter seconds before remember that's he'd saved my life and the misunderstanding about the gun was mostly my fault anyway.

"Go ahead," Aaron held back a tree branch for me, purposefully taking up the rear.

We made it back to their vehicles without incident. I took the passenger seat while Aaron drove the beat-up old sedan. Daryl rode ahead of us on his motorcycle.

I stared out the window. We rode in silence, taking a series of back roads that I couldn't keep track of, occasionally passing by clusters of dead people here and there. Eventually we came to a long highway that cut through open farmland.

Aaron stuck his hand out the window to wave to Daryl and we slowed to a stop.

"What's wrong?" I asked, looking at him directly for the first time since we started driving.

"Nothing. Just a pit stop," Aaron reassured me and I wanted to believe him but I was nervous.

I watched Aaron get out and talk to Daryl. Then they walked around to the back of the car. In the side mirror, I watched them open the trunk. Daryl handed something to Aaron, who pulled something else out of the trunk and then came around to my side of the car.

Aaron opened the passenger door and I looked up at him, squinting in the sun.

"Let me take a look at that," he said, gesturing at my bloody knees and holding up a first aid kit.

I turned in my seat and put my feet on the pavement.

"It's not as bad as it looks," I said, "I fell a few days ago. Must have reopened the scabs."

"We have a doctor back home. She'll be able to do a better job, but at least I can get you cleaned up a bit. Bandage it up. I'm afraid your pants are ruined, though," Aaron kept talking as he knelt on the ground and carefully wiped the blood off my knees.

He was rambling on like everything was fine, like nothing had happened.

"I'm sorry I ran off," I blurted out, and then my words kept coming, "I'm sorry I'm not a good fighter. But I'm good at other stuff. I can still help out. I can carry a heavy pack without complaining, I have great night vision so I'm really good at keeping watch at night, I can start a fire almost anywhere, and I…"

Aaron held up a hand to cut me off, "Nylah, hold on. It's okay, really. Don't feel bad about needing help. I'll tell you something a good friend of mine said once. We can make it together, but we can only make it together."

I sniffed and nodded. He really was as nice as he looked.

"And don't worry about Daryl. He can be a little…" Aaron frowned, searching for the right word, "gruff. But it's only because he cares."

Finally I cracked a smile. I really don't know what I would have done if I hadn't found him.

"Thank you," I said sincerely as Aaron finished up placing a bandage on my knee.

"No problem," Aaron smiled, standing up and dusting himself off.

"Here," he produced my gun, holding it out to me.

That must have been what Daryl handed him earlier.

"We had a few spare bullets. Now, you're going to be asked to hand it over when we get inside the walls, but we're still a few hours out," Aaron said.

"Thanks," I repeated, happy that I had his trust.

Dark clouds were gathering on the horizon so we packed up and hit the road again.

I have a theory. Luck is like a spinning coin. First something bad happens then something good will happen because your bad luck can't last forever. The good and bad keep spinning one after the other and each one keeps coming around again and again.

When you're out on the road, every other person you meet is good. So, if the last people I encountered were bad, then the next living person or group of people that I met would be good.

It's not a perfect theory, but it seems to be working today.

"Aaron, can I ask you something?" I ventured.

"Anything," he replied, taking his eyes off the road for a second to smile at me.

"You mentioned something about applesauce?" I questioned hopefully.

At Aaron's direction, I pulled his backpack out of the back seat and rummaged around until I found a jar of homemade applesauce. I ate my fill while Aaron talked about how things were in the early days, building the wall. He told me about finding Daryl's group and bringing them in.

As he talked, I realized that he'd never said exactly where we were going, but then I decided that I didn't care.

I'm leaving the past behind me. For the first time in a long time, I feel like the future can take me anywhere.

….

TBC!


	3. Chapter 3 - I'll Do Anything

Summary: Nylah begins to figure out her new life.

…..

Chapter 3 – I'll Do Anything

"Nylah, wake up."

I felt a warm hand on my shoulder and when I opened my eyes, for a split second I thought I was back with my friends.

It was an honest mistake. I have a habit of falling asleep on car rides, even if it's a short trip. I can still see their faces, teasing me and telling me to wake up and pay attention.

But that's impossible. They're all gone and I'm never going to see them again.

"We're here," Aaron said and stopped the car in front of a metal gate.

I'm a new person now. I have a new life. And new friends. At least one anyway, maybe even two.

Someone pulled the gate open. It rattled on its tracks and when it was open far enough, we drove inside. Daryl backed his bike up to the curb and spoke to a guy who nodded and jogged off towards one of the houses.

Looking at those houses through the car window, I felt another bittersweet moment of deja-vu. This time I was on the school bus, staring out the window as we drove through one of the rich neighborhoods where the houses we big and pretty.

Aaron got out of the car and after a minute I did too. I took a few steps, eyes open wide.

The scene was so ordinary. And that's what was so extraordinary about it. The streets were clean, yards tidy, all the windows were intact, and in the distance I could hear children playing. There was not a dead person in sight.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it," Aaron said, patting my shoulder sympathetically.

Then suddenly Aaron called out, "Eric!"

A man approached with a relieved grin on his face, "You're back!"

Aaron embraced him tightly, "You weren't worried about me, were you?"

"I'm just happy you're back," Eric said, adding, "I missed you."

Then he kissed Aaron on the lips.

I looked away in a rush, hastily clearing my shocked expression, but it was too late. Daryl was standing next to me and, from the frown on his face, he'd clearly noticed my reaction. I stared at the ground, wishing it would open up and swallow me whole.

"You got a problem?" Daryl asked.

"What?" I responded in a small voice.

"You heard me," he said, nodding his head towards where Aaron and Eric were talking, Aaron with his arm around the other man's shoulders.

"No, no. I don't have a problem," I said, feeling like I was on a sinking ship.

Daryl was still glaring at me and I bristled at the hostility before realizing that he was simply being protective of his friend.

I took a deep breath and tried to explain, "I'm not homophobic or anything, okay? I swear. I just… I feel like a huge idiot…That's all."

I stared at the ground. My face felt like it was burning.

"Ahhh," Daryl finally put the pieces together, "You're sweet on Aaron, huh?"

I cut a glance at him and then looked back at my pitiful sneakers.

"Well, it doesn't matter now, does it?" I really wanted this conversation to be over.

"Nah, I guess not," Daryl smirked and lit a cigarette.

A lot has changed in this world but apparently I'm still a hopeless romantic. I know it's stupid to have a crush on someone I've only just met, but I couldn't help it.

I've always been a pretty decent judge of character. I can usually tell right away if I'm going to be friends with someone. Or if I might be interested in them.

Aaron didn't owe me anything and yet he went out of his way to be kind to me. He gave me first aid and encouraged me. And he has such a nice smile. So it's really not a surprise I would start imagining the possibilities.

"I really have consistently terrible luck when it comes to love," I said to myself.

Daryl was absently scraping mud off his shoes on the curb.

"You and me both," he muttered.

I looked at him curiously and he seemed lost in thought so I didn't say anything else. For the first time I thought that maybe we had something in common after all.

Then a new thought occurred to me. Daryl was in the same boat as me when it came to love. Bad timing and bad luck. But what if he meant that he was in the exact same boat?! Did he secretly have feelings for Aaron too?

Before my theory could get any further, which was probably for the best, Aaron came over and introduced me to Eric.

"Nice to meet you," the man said cheerfully.

I was prepared to dislike him but he was so genuinely friendly that I felt even worse. I mentally shook myself and did my best to swallow my jealousy.

"Oh, here's this," I handed over my gun.

Aaron took it, reassuring me that I could have it back again after my interview was over.

"Interview?" I looked at them curiously.

"It's mostly a formality," Aaron explained, "My and Daryl's recommendation carries a lot of weight but we also have an interview process. It's a good way to get to know new people and figure out where they might fit in. Everyone gets jobs here."

I began to imagine handing over a resume but instead of listing my grades or my old summer jobs it detailed how many dead people I've killed. How many miles I can walk in a day. How many graves I've helped dig.

"I'll do anything," I told him.

Aaron and Eric led me down the picturesque street to one of the houses. I glanced over my shoulder and saw Daryl checking under the hood of the car.

The metal wall circling the neighborhood, visible between houses or at the end of a side street, was comforting but it was also a reminder of how the world is now.

"This is it," Aaron said.

I followed him up the steps onto the wide porch. A young woman stood in the open doorway and greeted me.

"Hello. I'm Maggie," she said, reaching out to shake my hand.

There was a sadness in her eyes, even when she smiled at me. I knew instinctively that she hadn't always lived in this safe paradise.

"I'm Nylah," I said, suddenly feeling my throat tighten.

"What is it?" Maggie asked.

I willed myself not to cry and told her, "You remind me of someone I know…I mean, used to know."

Maggie looked at me sympathetically, "Come on, I'll make us some tea and we can talk a bit, okay?"

I nodded. Maggie told Aaron and Eric that she'd catch up with them later and led me into the house. I gathered my courage and stepped through the doorway and into my new life.

….

The End!

A note about the timeline: The Wolf people attacked Nylah's camp maybe a day before they attacked Alexandria. She's been on her own for maybe two weeks or so. Alexandria has had enough time to start rebuilding.


End file.
